Description: This native perennial plant is 2-5' tall
and unbranched. The central stem is ridged and hairless, or nearly so. The
alternate leaves are up to 12" long and about 1/3" across, becoming smaller as
they ascend the stem. They are densely distributed, and appear almost whorled.
Each leaf is linear in shape, sometimes becoming wider at the tip. The margins
are smooth, while venation is parallel. Sometimes there are sparse scattered
hairs on the upper surface, otherwise it is glabrous. The central stem
terminates in a wand-like spike of flowerheads about 4-16" in length. These
flowerheads are densely crowded along the spike, and range in color from pink
to purplish pink (rarely white). Each flowerhead is about 1/3" across and
consists of 4-10 narrow tubular flowers. Each tubular flower flares outward
into 5 small lobes, and has a prominent divided style that is long and
sometimes curly. The style is white or light pink. The flowerheads are
subtended by green appressed bracts with a smooth shiny surface. The blooming
period is mid- to late summer, and lasts about 3 weeks. There is no floral
scent. The flowers are replaced by achenes with stiff bristles that are light
brown. The root system consists of a corm with shallow fibrous roots. Colonies
of plants are often formed by means of offsets.
Cultivation: The preference is full sun and moist
conditions. The soil should possess sufficient organic material to retain
moisture. Some sand or gravelly material is tolerated. The height of this plant
can vary considerably with the moisture in the soil. During a drought, the
lower leaves may wither away, otherwise this plant presents few
problems.
Range & Habitat: Marsh
Blazingstar occurs in NE Illinois and a few scattered counties elsewhere. It is
an uncommon plant in the wild. Habitats include moist black soil prairies,
moist sand prairies, edges of marshes and bogs, grassy fens, calcareous seeps,
moist alkaline sandflats, and areas along railroads.
Faunal Associations: The most common visitors of the
flowers are long-tongued bees, butterflies, and skippers, which seek nectar
primarily. Other insect visitors include day-flying moths, bee flies, and
short-tongued Halictid bees, the latter collecting pollen. The flowers are a
food source for the caterpillars of the rare Schinia gloriosa (Glorious
Flower Moth). Mammalian herbivores eat this and other Blazingstars readily;
groundhogs and rabbits favor younger plants, while deer and livestock are more
likely to browse on mature plants. The corms are eaten by the Prairie Vole and
Meadow Vole. An overpopulation of these animals can be make the establishment
of this plant difficult in some areas.
Photographic Location: The photograph was taken of a
plant growing in a moist prairie at Meadowbrook Park, Urbana,
Illinois.
Comments: Marsh
Blazingstar is an attractive plant while in bloom, resembling a magic wand. It
is more common in flower gardens than in the wild, although some of these are
undoubtedly hybrids with similar species. This plant closely resembles
Liatris pychnostachya (Prairie Blazingstar). However, the latter plant
has involucral bracts that curve outward, while the bracts of Marsh Blazingstar
are appressed together and relatively smooth. As for the other Blazingstar
species, this plant tends to be taller with smaller flowers; it is also more
typical of wetland habitats.